Sunday Rewind: Pass the Broccolini Over

Broccolini with Matzo Crumble….- Originally posted April 24, 2012

As The Rantings of an Amateur Chef has been going since February of 2012, there are quite a few readers that have joined along the way. In an effort to bring back some great recipes that they may have missed, I will dedicate Sundays to re-posting a favorite that is at least two years old. I hope you enjoy! – The Ranting Chef

For a few years in the early 2000’s I bought a new cookbook every few months. I had just started looking to expand the recipes we ate regularly and when I was in my local warehouse club, I would always stop at the cookbooks and look for something interesting.

I was never interested in those cookbooks that focused on entertaining. I had two young boys, worked full time and for a while was also in graduate school. Any spare time I had was spent sleeping, not entertaining. One of the cookbooks I ended up purchasing had sections that were focused on various times of the year (flag cake for Independence day, roasted turkey for Thanksgiving, Eggs Benedict for Mother’s Day). I thought it was rather interesting and worked my way through a number of the holidays, often making the dishes on random days.

I had pretty much exhausted the standards, and in flipping through the book, ended up on the section for Passover. Not having any traditional Passover meals before, I set out to make two of the recipes. Matzo ball soup? Ok, but lacked flavor. Plus the ball turned a bit pasty. The other recipe, on the other hand, was a keeper – Broccolini with matzoh crumble.

Nice fresh broccoli with a little crunch.

The first time I made this, I searched out broccolini. Now when I make it, I just use broccoli.

Steam the broccoli so it still has some crispness. Please don’t ever steam the life out of your vegetables!!

You could make this without a food processor, but if you have one, you won’t regret pulling it out.

After the broccoli is done steaming, I use the same pot to cook the green onions. That way only one has to be washed.

Add in the ground matzoh and brown a bit.

Mix it in for a different take on the usual broccoli side.

Broccolini with Matzo Crumble

Prep Time: 8 mins | Cook Time: 20 mins | Servings: 8 | Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches brocolini, trimmed, or 1 1/2 bunches broccoli, trimmed and cut into spears
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 bunch (6-8) scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp dried marjoram
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 sheet whole wheat matzo, finely ground

Directions:

1) Bring 1/2 ” of salted water to boil in a large skillet over high heat. Add broccolini; cover and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 7-8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a platter. Cover loosely with foil to keep warm.

2) wipe out skillet; add oil and heat over medium heat. Add scallions, garlic, marjoram, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until scallions are tender, about 2 minutes. Add matzo and cook, stirring, until crisp and lightly browned, 3-5 minutes. Spoon over the broccolini and serve immediately.